Evaluation of Australian wheat genotypes for response to variable nitrogen application

Aims: The key aim was to assess the genetic variation for nitrogen (N) response and stability in spring wheat germplasm to determine the scope for improvement of nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) under water-limited, low yielding conditions. A further aim was to evaluate NUE stability and NUE-protein yield (PY) as suitable NUE-related traits for selection. Methods: The traits measured included grain yield (GY, kg ha−1) and NUE (kg GY kg−1 N) under varying N applications at all sites, and NUE for protein yield (NUE-PY), harvest index and plant height at some sites. In addition, two of the trials used two seeding rates to provide an assessment of the impact of plant density on NUE. Results: Genetic variation was significant for all traits studied. Grain yield was affected by both genotype (G) and N rate and the interaction between the two. Interestingly, harvest index and height showed no direct response to varying N applications. However, for these traits, there was a significant G effect and N response (G × N interaction). Conclusions: Increasing N inputs led to variable responses for GY at different sites. Importantly, genetic variation in N response was detected. The information and screening techniques will enable plant breeders to select wheat genotypes that show a consistent response to high N. There is clear scope to improve NUE in spring wheat grown in low yielding environments.Saba Mahjourimajd, Haydn Kuchel, Peter Langridge, Mamoru Okamot

Genetic basis for variation in wheat grain yield in response to varying nitrogen application

Nitrogen (N) is a major nutrient needed to attain optimal grain yield (GY) in all environments. Nitrogen fertilisers represent a significant production cost, in both monetary and environmental terms. Developing genotypes capable of taking up N early during development while limiting biomass production after establishment and showing high N-use efficiency (NUE) would be economically beneficial. Genetic variation in NUE has been shown previously. Here we describe the genetic characterisation of NUE and identify genetic loci underlying N response under different N fertiliser regimes in a bread wheat population of doubled-haploid lines derived from a cross between two Australian genotypes (RAC875 × Kukri) bred for a similar production environment. NUE field trials were carried out at four sites in South Australia and two in Western Australia across three seasons. There was genotype-by-environment- by-treatment interaction across the sites and also good transgressive segregation for yield under different N supply in the population. We detected some significant Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) associated with NUE and N response at different rates of N application across the sites and years. It was also possible to identify lines showing positive N response based on the rankings of their Best Linear Unbiased Predictions (BLUPs) within a trial. Dissecting the complexity of the N effect on yield through QTL analysis is a key step towards elucidating the molecular and physiological basis of NUE in wheat.Saba Mahjourimajd, Julian Taylor, Beata Sznajder, Andy Timmins, Fahimeh Shahinnia, Zed Rengel, Hossein Khabaz-Saberi, Haydn Kuchel, Mamoru Okamoto, Peter Langridg

Candidate genes and genome-wide association study of grain protein content and protein deviation in durum wheat

Main conclusion: Stable QTL for grain protein content co-migrating with nitrogen-related genes have been identified by the candidate genes and genome-wide association mapping approaches useful for marker-assisted selection. Grain protein content (GPC) is one of the most important quality traits in wheat, defining the nutritional and end-use properties and rheological characteristics. Over the years, a number of breeding programs have been developed aimed to improving GPC, most of them having been prevented by the negative correlation with grain yield. To overcome this issue, a collection of durum wheat germplasm was evaluated for both GPC and grain protein deviation (GPD) in seven field trials. Fourteen candidate genes involved in several processes related to nitrogen metabolism were precisely located on two high-density consensus maps of common and durum wheat, and six of them were found to be highly associated with both traits. The wheat collection was genotyped using the 90 K iSelect array, and 11 stable quantitative trait loci (QTL) for GPC were detected in at least three environments and the mean across environments by the genome-wide association mapping. Interestingly, seven QTL were co-migrating with N-related candidate genes. Four QTL were found to be significantly associated to increases of GPD, indicating that selecting for GPC could not affect final grain yield per spike. The combined approaches of candidate genes and genome-wide association mapping led to a better understanding of the genetic relationships between grain storage proteins and grain yield per spike, and provided useful information for marker-assisted selection programs